Star urges Companies to prepare for BT strike
John Adey, Chief Operating Officer at Star, a provider of on-demand communications and computing services has provided the following advice to businesses in the event that the CWU's ballot of BT employees results in a strike on 5th July
"Companies, who are concerned about the possibility of BT strikes after the ballot on July 5, should ensure that they have a contingency plan in place now. The majority of the UK's businesses - whichever broadband provider they use - are reliant on BT for the last mile of the network. If they have a problem with their service during the strike and have no alternative service in place, this could have an impact on their business as the time for repairs to the line could be longer than usual.
"For companies that are reliant on a single Ethernet connection, it would be worth installing an ADSL line as a back-up service in the event of failure of the primary service. This can be installed within about 5 days and – if they act now – businesses could give themselves more peace of mind.
"We would like to emphasise that there is no need to panic and that at this stage it is unclear if the strike will proceed and how widespread it will be. However, for companies who are looking to minimise the risk of any potential disruption, it is advisable to review their options and take sensible precautions if their business would suffer were they to lose connectivity services."
